A Lashkar-e-Toiba militant, who was the main suspect in two attacks on civilians, was killed in a brief encounter in Sopore town of north Kashmir on Wednesday.

DGP Dilbag Singh said Asif Maqbool Bhat, a resident of Sopore town, had been quite active in the Valley for the past one month. “We were tracking him and had set up checkpoints. The militant threw a grenade when he was intercepted, resulting in a shootout. In the ensuing encounter, the militant was neutralised and a few police personnel were injured,” said the DGP.

Bhat and another militant, Sajad Mir, were the prime suspects in the last week attack on the fruit trader’s family in Sopore. Earlier this week, the police had arrested eight over-ground workers of Bhat and Mir who were involved in preparing and circulating threat posters in the Sopore area. It was the second encounter between militants and security forces in the Kashmir valley since the abrogation of Article 370.

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